title: Adrenal steroids and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation regulate neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of adult rats through a common pathway.
abstract: Adrenal steroids and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation have both been shown to regulate the rate of proliferation of granule neuron progenitor cells in the dentate gyrus of adult rats [Cameron H. A. and Gould E. (1994) Neuroscience 61, 203-209; Cameron H. A. et al. (1995) J. Neurosci. 15, 46874692]. Parallels between the actions of these two factors suggest that they may regulate cell division through a common pathway. This hypothesis was tested by altering both of the factors simultaneously and determining whether the effects were additive. The results of this study demonstrate that alterations in N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation block the effects of corticosterone level on cell proliferation; N-methyl-D-aspartate blocks the adrenalectomy-induced increase in [3H]thymidine-labelled cell density in the dentate gyrus, whereas the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist dizocilpine maleate (MK-801) prevents the corticosterone-induced decrease in proliferating cells. This finding suggests that adrenal steroids and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation regulate granule cell production in the adult rat dentate gyrus through a common pathway and that N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation operates downstream of corticosterone in this pathway.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10021, USA.
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Cameron
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tanapat
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gould
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000502:physiology*; D000315:Adrenalectomy; D000818:Animals; D001711:Biotransformation / Q000502:physiology; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000378:metabolism; D018891:Dentate Gyrus / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate / Q000494:pharmacology; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000819:agonists / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate; D003345:Corticosterone